A New Direction

As a leader we are called to be problem solvers.  But we are also called to be great communicators.  If we cannot communicate effectively…well…we will not be a leader for long.  The part of communication in leadership that is rarely talked about is the “language” of leadership.  Yes it is true or language can be affected by our tone, but language can also be the words we us...

Whether you are a solopreneur, entrepreneur, start-up, B2B, B2C, small business, corporation, profit or non-profit we all should have a desire to see your organization operate at it’s highest level.  There are three critical parts to every organization, culture, people, and leadership.  And if any one of those areas are week or off track so is the entire organization.  Thankfully former CEO...

Do you really know your customer?  What percentage of your customers come back to you to do business with you again?  Do they love you so much that they tell other people about your business and get you referrals?  If you don’t like the answers to these questions, or are hesitant to answer these questions, then chances are you do not know your customers as well as you think you do, and they...

What does climbing Mount Everest have to do with being an Entrepreneur and a Start-Up Company?  Turns out pretty much everything.  If you are considering a Start-Up then the truth of the matter is you are on a journey.  And that journey is pretty much of a climb that is beset with potential pit falls and altitudes that you have never experienced.  In fact if you are an entrepreneur with a Start-Up...

I remember working for a Division 1 University and a person that I worked with was frustrated with the younger generation at the time and he said, “They need to get over it!  You don’t go to fun…You go to work!”  Sadly when it comes to  work and fun that attitude still seems to prevail.  There is mistaken belief that work and fun are like oil and water and the two don&#8217...

Money.  When we hear it, it brings all sorts of  emotions.  It seems some people have money and others don’t.  And yet, there are those who by most standards do not make much money, but wind up millionaires at the end of their life.  How is that possible?  This is why on this episode of A New Direction author and financial planner Clark Kendall talks about money how to accumulate it, how to...

Regardless of what you do in business it all really comes down to one word…communication.  If you are trying to employ your team to do more, it’s communication.  If you want to overcome a crisis, it’s communication.  If you want people to buy your product or service it’s…wait for it…communication.  I think we all know that this is ultimately true, but how much d...

Let’s say your 5 foot 3 inches tall and you decide to join the U. S. Marine Corps, what do you think you are going to learn about leadership?  Now add to that you are female in the Marine Corps…what do you think it will take to be a respected leader?  When it comes to leadership my guest on this episode of A New Direction co-author Angie Morgan (U.S. Marine ret’d) doesn’t s...

The fact is we are all sales people at some point if not most point in our lives.  But then there are those people who have made sales their career.  It is a profession.  But let’s be honest it’s not an easy profession.  The fact is for most people who are not in sales when they hear the word, there can be this yucky feeling in the pit of their stomach and an urge to runaway.  Why?  We...

What if you had a had a business where all your people wanted to stay because they loved it so much. In fact it was so good that you never had to really hire anyone because people were running to your door to be a part of what you have going in your business? What does it take to do that? Well it takes a culture. But not just any culture. It has to be such a great culture that people feel that the...

As we are in the very beginnings of the holiday season things can get pretty chaotic.  As great as the Holidays are or can be the stress can be overwhelming.  We all get caught up into having to put up decorations, making travel plans, making menus, gift buying and the list just gets longer.  But it isn’t only our personal life that is affected.  Quite frankly all of our businesses become af...

When it comes to our jobs often we feel powerless.  Sometimes this occurs because when we work for someone else we believe that we do not have any control over our job.  Then there are those who feel stuck in their job, they feel as if they cannot move up or go anywhere.  They blame their boss, blame the management, ,blame the ownership, they blame others in general for their lack of motivation or...

When it comes to leadership who better than a U.S. Army general is more qualified to talk about it.  When you have led thousands of men and women in the midst of brutal, volatile, and dangerous combat, and having to take the responsibility of the lives of all those under his command you better demonstrate great leadership.  You not only need to have great leadership knowledge, but you must have ch...

Owning your own business is exciting.  However, when you choose to own your own business you are responsible to make the decisions.  And this is where business mistakes happen…in the decision making process.  It has been said that in the game of golf that the one thing a professional golfer does that an amateur does not do, is they know how to avoid the mistakes.  This of course makes them m...

How do you go from being in debt to owning franchises, owning property and your own business?  It all starts with changing your stinkin’ thinkin’.  Let’s face it we all want some sort of success.  Or we would like to have even more success.  And when is comes to success we have a tendency to look outward.  We want to find some “trick”, some easy way to find this illus...

W hen we think about leadership we typically think of a single person.  Some sort of top performer that leads a group of people.  However, what if is there is another way to look at it?  What if we looked at leadership by going against the grain?  Does that sound “rebel”?   The truth is we  do need a new view of looking at it.  After all we do live in a VUCA world (Volatile, Uncertain,...

Burnout is a very real condition.  Research on burnout suggest it costs companies billions of dollars in revenue as people can no longer function in their job, because they experience burnout.  How does burnout show up?  Fatigue, irritability, lack of motivation, making more frequent mistakes, not caring about the quality of your work, dread, sickness and many other symptoms.  It can be a devastat...

Most of your life you are going to be in a career.  So how many classes through out your life time did you take that truly helped you?  Well, if you are like most of us the answer is…zero.  When it comes to our career there is little to help us.  No one really talks about making a “career plan”, or the difference between “leadership and management” and how to navigate...

If your people were to be asked the following questions about your business strategy what would be their response? Can your team members give you a one or two sentence description of how your company distinguishes itself? Can they tell you the top two or three things company must be great at, or must get better at to be successful? Can they tell you how the previous two answers translate into the...

Whether you are a Business to Business company or a Business to Consumer company the fact is we all need clients.  And that means that connecting with prospective or current clients becomes  priority one.  The problem is that connecting with others is not easy.  In fact, connecting and staying connected will be one of the most difficult tasks that you will undertake in your business.  Thankfully f...

Everyone wants to be the one leading the charge, but no one wants the real responsibility that comes with it.  Leading others sounds great until you realize it is more than a title.  Leading is not about you being in charge.  Leading is about taking care of others.  Demonstrating you care.  Showing them understanding and compassion.  Leading is not about giving them fish, or philosophizing about f...

It has been said that one of the greatest fears that people have is to speak in public.  In fact, the fear of dying is less than the fear of public speaking.  And yet we also know that great leaders tend to be great public speakers.  In fact, it could be argued that it is difficult to lead without the skill of public speaking.  And there in lies the truth…it is a skill that can be learned. ...

The Proverb states, “People without a vision perish”.  Meaning that without a vision you will wander aimlessly, run wild without restraint, only to be ridiculed laughed at, and life just happens and they wind up with nothing.  Most often we think about “vision” when it comes to business, but if you don’t have a personal vision it is impossible to lead others.   Withou...

https://coachemwayup.com/about-the-authors/lynn-guerin/When it comes to undefeated teams and national championships none were more dominant than UCLA coached by John Wooden.  Considered by coaches to be the greatest coach ever John Wooden left a legacy of excellence and success.  There was no doubt that his teams were the best.  He played a team game even though he had superstars.  No one person w...

Can you quote your company’s mission statement perfectly?  Are you a leader in your company and can you quote the mission with 100% accuracy?  If you cannot well then, “Houston we have a problem.” And the problem is you and your company are out of alignment.  Your mission statement should be so ingrained that everyone in the company can not only quote it, but they understand that...